Image: Slava Bowman
Have you heard of Fairtrade?
What about fast fashion? As girls, we all enjoy shopping and picking out the season’s latest trends but have you ever thought about how this could be affecting our planet and international communities?
The demand for clothes is bigger than ever, which means fashion brands are producing more trends than ever before. For the workers this means long hours, low pay and in some cases unsafe working conditions, whilst they try to meet the consumer’s demand. Our bargain buys and cheap deals mean low wages for someone else. How is that fair?
With all this demand farmers are having to produce the raw materials, such as cotton, at an alarmingly fast and unnatural rate, which means harsh chemicals polluting our planet. Did you know that the fashion industry is the world’s second largest polluter? Right behind the oil industry.
This sounds like a big problem and it is. But don’t get downbeat about it as we’ve listed some small ways you can help make a big difference. We love the environment and our beautiful planet at Lenguaventura, so let’s protect it together!
So what is Fairtrade?
Fairtrade means that the workers and farmers receive a better price for their products and have safe and fair working conditions. By buying Fairtrade you are supporting farmers and workers to improves their lives and communities. You may have seen Fairtrade displayed on some food products in your local supermarkets – mainly bananas, coffee, tea and chocolate – but did you know you can buy Fairtrade fashion too?
There are some great eco-friendly fashion brands working sustainably with Fairtrade which means you can look great and feel great too! Discover some of these brands here.
There are lots of ways you can be more responsible with your shopping habits so why not see if you challenge yourself to making a change or two?
- Buy second hand. Visit charity shops and pick out some cool, vintage pieces that no-one else has. Celebrate your unique style!
- Buy better! Everyone has items in their wardrobe that they wear all the time, so when it comes to replacing these think about buying a quality piece that will last you for years to come.
- Don’t buy fast fashion or throw away fashion. When buying a new dress or pair of shoes, think about how often you’ll wear them. If you know you’ll wear them over and over again then go for it! If not, then think about how much you really need them. The millions of tons of clothes that get thrown away and dumped in landfill is adding to shocking levels of pollution on our wonderful planet.
- Shop small, shop artisan! By visiting local independent businesses you could be supporting a whole community of people. We love buying small handmade souvenirs when we travel and it makes you feel great knowing you’re supporting the artists or craftsperson who made it. Our favourite place to buy handmade souvenirs in Tarifa is Babachic – this small creative shop sells bright and beautiful handmade beach bags – better still they sell all kinds of craft supplies so you can have a go at customising one yourself!
Check out our eco-friendly Adventure summer camp and learn how you can travel responsibly too!
Read more about Fairtrade and how you can make a difference.
